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Withal studied the horror on the young warrior’s face, and saw beneath it the glimmer of… ambition

Hood, do not turn away

A long, frozen row like flames behind the Tiste Edur’s eyes

Ah The Crippled God’s chosen well And deny it not, Withal, your hand is in this, plunged deep So very deep

The s Withal even as Rhulad Sengar reached for the sword

A god’s mercy? He was unconvinced

In four days, the Letherii delegation would arrive Two nights had passed since the Warlock King had called Seren, Hull and Buruk the Pale into his audience at the feast table Buruk’s spirits were high, a development that had not surprised Seren Pedac Merchants whose interests were te term over speculative endeavours There were always vultures of coered for strife, and often profited by such discord, but Buruk the Pale was not one of them

Contrary to the desires of those back in Letheras who had conscripted Buruk, the ’s intimation that the Edur would seek peace, the tumult in Buruk’s soul had eased The issue had been taken fro wanted peace, he was in for a fight But Seren Pedac’s confidence in Hannan Mosag had grown The Edur leader possessed cunning and resilience There would be no manipulation at the treaty, no treachery sewn into the fabric of generous pronounceated only by Hull Beddict He had come to understand that his desires would not beIf he would have his war, it would of necessity have to come from the Letherii And so, if he would follow that path, he would need to reverse his outward allegiances No longer on the side of the Tiste Edur, but accreted to at least one eleation – a faction characterized by betrayal and unrelenting greed

Hull had left the village and was now somewhere out in the forest She kneould return for the treaty gathering, but probably not before She did not envy hiy, Buruk the Pale decided to set about selling his iron, and for this he was required to have an Acquitor acco hies, each carrying an ingot

It had been raining steadily since the feast in the Warlock King’s longhouse Water flowed in turgid strea low in the vicinity of the forges, coating the wood and stone walls in oily soot Slaves swathed in heavy rain cloaks es between compound walls

Seren led Buruk and his servants towards a squat stone building with high, slitted s, the entranceway three steps froround level and flanked by Blackwood columns carved to mimic hammered bronze, complete with rivets and dents The door was Blackwood inlaid with silver and black iron, the patterns an archaic, stylized script that Seren suspected contained shadorought wards